Reinhard Oppel


Julius Reinhard Oppel was a German composer.
He studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt 1903–1909, was briefly an organist in Bonn, then from 1911 professor of composition at the Kiel Conservatory of Music, and from 1928 professor of music theory at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Oppel was a student, correspondent, and friend of Heinrich Schenker, the famous Viennese Jewish music theorist, and made efforts to disseminate theory while a professor at Leipzig.
Oppel was an outspoken critic of the Nazis. Until 1938, Oppel often played the organ not only in Protestant and Catholic churches, but also in synagogues in Leipzig.

Works

For a complete list of works, see the University of Hamburg link given below.
Only a small number of the opp. no. from 1-33 seem to have been used for published works, the others reserved for works that remained in manuscript at least during his lifetime, e.g. his string trio in C minor op.10. Other works in manuscript received no opus number at all

Recordings

The Korean pianist Heejung Kang has revived music by Schenker and his students Reinhard Oppel, Paul Kletzki and Arnold Mendelssohn, in concert and on record: